Bird Watching
by Tessellations
Summary: A vignette about what Neji may have been like prior to being branded with the curse seal and his father's death. Includes Hinata, Hiashi and Hizashi.


_A/N: This popped into my head last night and I wrote it out the next day because even Neji had to be a troublemaker when he was young. For all of my cousins. _

**_Bird Watching_**

"What are you doing? Out! Out!" exclaimed a scandalised voice from within the Hyuuga compound.

A few minutes later, the sound of pattering feet could be heard on the wooden porch floor as the offender made his escape from the kitchen. Neji was clad in a summer yukata, the front smeared with sticky sauce as he held aloft two dangos in his hands victoriously. With a gleeful smile, he bit down on one as a he walked off the porch and into the back garden. As he finished one of his pilfered confections, he noticed the shy figure of his cousin, Hinata standing on the porch, partially obscured by one of the wooden beams. Her wide, pale eyes watched him hopefully. Neji gave an annoyed sigh; she probably wanted his last dango. Well, if she wanted one, she could get it from the kitchen herself, Neji thought stubbornly.

But it seemed to Neji those eyes of hers looked so longingly at the sweet in his hand that he felt guilty.

"Hinata," he called, waving a sticky fist at her. Hinata hurried over to him, a timid smile on her face.

"Here," Neji said gruffly, offering her the dango clutched in his hand, "I know you want to eat this, so I'm letting you have it."

Hinata looked at him confused and slightly disappointed, but accepted the proffered sweet.

"Thank you," she said quietly, nibbling on it.

Neji didn't acknowledge her response, too busy licking his fingers and then wiping them on his yukata. He walked towards the vegetable patch (although, it was too large to be considered a patch) and Hinata followed him, glad of his silent assent to allow her to accompany him. Truthfully, that was what she had wanted in the first place; she didn't even like dangos. Hinata watched Neji as he futilely attempted to flatten his hair with his hands. Suddenly he turned around looking serious, his hands clasped behind his back and addressed Hinata in what he probably thought was a grownup voice.

"Hinata-chan, the tomatoes are looking ripe, are they not?" he asked, gesturing to the tomato plants by inclining his head.

Hinata's forehead creased into a frown as she looked in perplexity at her cousin who continued obliviously, "And don't the cucumbers look healthy, Hinata-chan?"

With increasing bewilderment, Hinata looked at the leeks Neji had just dubbed cucumbers. Why was he calling leeks, cucumbers? And why was he acting so odd and calling her 'Hinata-chan', he never did that. Hinata observed Neji pensively as he continued walking down the vegetable garden, making random comments.

Suddenly, the '-chan' suffix and his peculiar manner made sense to her. Neji was imitating how her father spoke to her mother about the garden. But…why?

"Ano…Neji?" she ventured.

"Hinata!" Neji said crossly, "You're not even playing properly! And I've told you to call me Neji-niisan! I am older than you, you know!"

"S-Sorry, Neji-niisan," Hinata apologised.

Neji huffed, "Well this isn't fun—hey! Look at that bird!"

Neji pointed wildly towards a corner of the garden. When Hinata glanced in the direction his finger was pointing, she saw a bird pulling a worm out of the ground with its beak. Both the children watch in avid fascination as the bird completed its task. When the worm was jerked free, the bird flapped its wings and flew in the direction of the forest.

"Come on! Let's follow it," Neji called over his back, already running after the bird.

Hinata ran after him.

* * *

After a few minutes, they had lost the bird in the thick canopy. They were walking aimlessly and Neji was feeling rather let down that their adventure had come to a premature halt. 

After a few moments of silence, when their thoughts were free to wander, Neji remembered something that had been preying on his mind for quite a while.

"Why is your mother getting so fat, Hinata?" he asked curious.

"She is not!" Hinata said, fiercely defensive.

"Yes, she is. Everyone can tell," Neji said, momentarily amused by her reaction, "She looks like she ate a watermelon—did she?"

He laughed when Hinata, pink in the face and fists clenched, glared at him angrily. Neji was saved from being hit by his younger cousin when they both noticed incessant, high-pitched chirping above them.

"Hey, look it's the bird's nest!"

The nest was visible, situated on the lower branches of an oak tree. Just the right height, in fact, for a four-year-old to climb. Neji kicked off his zori sandals and began climbing the tree. Some of her cousin's wild abandon leaked into Hinata because she followed Neji, climbing up the tree after him, but with much less skill and grace. Hinata joined Neji on a thick, sturdy branch as he gazed intently at the three chicks lying in their nest at the end of the branch.

The two children watched them silently for a long time as though held in a trance. As the hatchlings stretched their necks and held their mouths wide open for a prospective meal, as they jostled each other and flapped their downy wings uselessly, Neji and Hinata watched them intrigued.

Hinata decided her favourite was the fattest, fluffiest one. It was so fat, it seemed to roll around the nest rather than hop like its siblings. Neji declared that his favourite was the bird that they saw in the garden, hunting for worms. The chicks didn't look very interesting to Neji anymore. He wanted to see real birds, ones that could fly, so he left Hinata who was content watching the chicks' antics to climb higher up the tree. Maybe if he climbed to the top, far above the thick green, leafy shelter that made up the canopy, he would see the bird he'd seen earlier.

But before he could reach his lofty goal, Neji clung with his arms onto a branch too thin to hold his weight and the branch cracked audibly, sending him plummeting down to the ground.

Hinata heard noisy rustling behind her, so she turned to find the source of the sound. Her searching eyes landed on her cousin who was dangling from one hand on a branch below her. Just as she was about to cry out in shock, his hand slipped and Neji fell at the base of the tree with a painful thud. Hinata leaned over her branch dangerously trying to get a closer look at her cousin; the hatchlings chirped on, forgotten.

Neji sat up and looked up at her through the leaves and limbs of the tree, a strained look on his face.

"Are you all right?" Hinata's voice trembled. She gripped the branch tightly with her arms and legs.

"Hinata, come down."

Hinata thought Neji sounded close to tears. She shook her head vigorously. Her own eyes filled with tears as she cried, "No! I'll fall!"

She saw Neji try to stand up, but he fell down with a cry of pain. A tear fell down her face. She felt frightened.

"Hinata! Climb down!" Neji's angry voice called from below. She couldn't see him because she had shut her eyes tightly. She didn't answer.

"Hinata!"

* * *

The sun was setting now and casting long shadows in the forest. The tops of the trees glinted like gold foil as a gentle breeze ruffled their leaves. On one of the trees, a small figure clung to a branch and at its base, another figure sat, its back resting against the solid trunk. 

"Don't worry, Hinata. They'll come find us soon." Neji reassured his younger cousin with more confidence and courage than he felt.

"I'm not worried," Hinata whispered, feeling tired as she lay on the tree branch.

"They'll find us." Neji repeated.

After a couple of hours, their panic had ebbed away as they accepted their situation with the uncanny reasoning of a child that knows when something is beyond their control and patiently awaits outside help. Although, Neji's sprainedankle was red and swollen, the pain had diminished to a constant, dull ache.

"Do wild animals come out at night?" Hinata asked as the thought struck her.

A pregnant pause later, "No, they don't."

"I think they do," whispered Hinata, "But don't worry, it's not night yet."

"I'm not worried!" said Neji, but Hinata could see him looking around furtively.

"I'm in the tree, so I should be safe." Hinata murmured to herself, trying to calm down.

"Look, Hinata," Neji had turned around to peer up the tree, it was getting difficult to see her as it darkened, "Why don't you come down?"

"Hinata?" he asked, trying to see her clearly. He saw her white eyes staring at…not quite him. He suddenly noticed the shadow he was within and he felt the icy grip of fear closing on him. He turned around slowly to see a vast shape outlined by the sun's dying rays and as his gaze travelled up, he saw the creature had two heads sprouting from within it. He let out a sound that was something between a strangled yell and a sob. He stood, trying to back away from the creature as it moved near him and to his immense horror, the creature seemed to split in half. He was about to scream when he heard a calming familiar voice say his name.

It seemed like a veil had lifted from in front of his eyes because suddenly he was seeing his father. His father and his uncle. And then he started crying in relief and from the throbbing pain in his ankle. His arms reached out and wound around his father's neck and he was lifted up as easily as if he were a leaf. He buried his head in the crook of his father's neck, hiding his tears as gentle hands checked him for injuries and finally, fingers gingerly felt his ankle.

As his father rubbed his back soothingly, he heard Hiashi-sama walk up the tree and retrieve Hinata. Then they were walking home in silence.

Once he was sure his tears were dried, Neji looked up and saw that Hinata was also being carried in her father's arms. She gave him a small smile while she lay against her father's shoulder.

"Chichi-ue? I'm sorry."

"Yes, I know you are. I have told you many times it is dangerous to enter the forest, but I think your injury has taught you that lesson better than I."

Neji nodded his head meekly against his father's shoulder.

"You are still in trouble, especially for taking Hinata-sama with you," his father added softly, "But rest for now."

Glad that he was safe and off the hook for the moment, Neji flashed Hinata a smile behind his father when he thought Hiashi-sama wasn't looking.

Eventually, the rocking motion of being carried made Neji and Hinata drowsy.

'I can't believe I cried and Hinata didn't' was Neji's last thought before he fell asleep.

I can't believe Neji cried and I didn't…

* * *

_A/N: Recalling young Neji's only comment about Hinata, I'm even more convinced that he was as easy-going then as he is serious now. Although, granted my Neji may still be a bit over the top._

_Also,if you realised that I made the age gap between Hanabi and Hinata only about 3 years as opposed to the actual 5 years, so sorry, I had my reasons, it's a long story. Heh. If you didn't, don't worry about it!_

_I'd love it if you reviewed with your thoughts. Thanks!_


End file.
